Religious obsessions and compulsions in a non-clinical sample: the Penn Inventory of Scrupulosity (PIOS)

The present investigation reports on the development and psychometric evaluation of the Penn Inventory of Scrupulosity (PIOS), a 19-item self-report scale measuring religious obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Factor analysis yielded a two factor solution with the first subscale measuring fears about having committed sin, and the second measuring fears concerning punishment from God. Using a sample of college students, the PIOS was shown to be internally consistent and possess good convergent and discriminant validity. Highly devout participants evidenced higher scores on both PIOS subscales, but devout Jews evidenced fewer fears of sin and punishment from God compared to devout Protestants or Catholics. The PIOS has utility both as a research and clinical tool.     

Epinephrine enhancement of human memory consolidation: interaction with arousal at encoding

Abundant evidence indicates that endogenous stress hormones like epinephrine and cortisol modulate memory consolidation in animals. Despite this evidence, there has been no demonstration that endogenous stress hormones modulate memory consolidation in humans. In the present study, healthy subjects viewed a series of 21 slides, and immediately after received an intravenous infusion of either saline or epinephrine (40 or 80 ng/kg/min). Memory for the first three (primacy) and last three (recency) slides viewed was assessed with an incidental free recall test one week later. Epinephrine dose-dependently increased memory for the primacy slides, but did not affect memory of the recency slides. A subsequent experiment involving new subjects revealed significantly higher electrodermal responses to the primacy compared with recency slides. These findings support the view (Gold & McGaugh, 1975) that endogenous stress hormones modulate memory consolidation for experiences that induce their release. Additionally, they suggest that in humans these hormones may interact with the degree of arousal at initial encoding of information to modulate memory consolidation processes for that information.     

Sex-related difference in amygdala activity during emotionally influenced memory storage

We tested the possibility suggested by previous imaging studies that amygdala participation in the storage of emotionally influenced memory is differentially lateralized in men and women. Male and female subjects received two PET scans for regional cerebral glucose-one while viewing a series of emotionally provocative (negative) films, and a second while viewing a series of matched, but emotionally more neutral, films. Consistent with suggestions from several previously published studies, enhanced activity of the right, but not the left, amygdala in men was related to enhanced memory for the emotional films. Conversely, enhanced activity of the left, but not the right, amygdala in women was related to enhanced memory for the emotional films. These results demonstrate a clear gender-related lateralization of amygdala involvement in emotionally influenced memory, and indicate that theories of the neurobiology of emotionally influenced memory must begin to account for the influence of gender.     

Psychopathy in adolescence and criminal recidivism in young adulthood: longitudinal results from a multiethnic sample of youthful offenders

Very few studies to date have examined the long-term predictive validity of psychopathy among juveniles. The current study reports general and violent recidivism data for an ethnically heterogeneous sample of male offenders (n = 75) who had been administered the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL: YV) in 1996 when they were on average 16 years of age. Neither total scores nor factor scores of the PCL: YV predicted general or violent reconvictions throughout this time frame. These modest effects underscore recent concerns raised about the utility of psychopathy as a risk factor for future criminality, particularly among multiethnic offender samples.     

THEOLOGICAL ETHICS, THE CHURCHES, AND GLOBAL POLITICS

Several discourses about theology, church, and politics are occurring among Christian theologians in the United States. One influential strand centers on the communitarian theology of Stanley Hauerwas, who calls on Christians to witness faithfully against liberalism in general and war in particular. Jeffrey Stout, in his widely discussed Democracy and Tradition (2004), responds that religious people ought precisely to endorse those democratic and liberal American traditions that join religious and secular counterparts to battle injustice. Hauerwas, Stout, and many of their interlocutors envision liberal U.S. culture as the context of Christian social ethics. The ensuing debate rarely incorporates Catholic scholars, feminist scholars, scholars of color, or international and liberationist voices. Their inclusion could enhance an understanding of the role of the church in society, and support a common morality in the face of global pluralism. More importantly, it could broaden the scope of discourse on religion and politics to envision global Christian social ethics.     

Approach and avoidance motivation as predictors of pro-relationship behaviors

Pro-relationship behaviors, such as willingness to sacrifice, are assumed to be driven by both approach and avoidance motivation. However, this assumption has not been directly tested. In two studies, we examined how individual differences in approach and avoidance motivation predicted pro-relationship behavior. In Study 1, avoidance (but not approach) motivation uniquely predicted sacrificial behavior. In Study 2, sacrificing was uniquely predicted by avoidance motivation, whereas accommodation was uniquely predicted by approach motivation. These data suggest that although both sacrificing and accommodation are pro-relationship behaviors, they are driven by different motivational systems, which in turn may result in different long-term relational outcomes.     

Recognition,Desire, and Unjust Sex

In this article I will revisit the question of what I term the continuum of heteronormative sexual interactions, that is, the idea that purportedly ethically acceptable heterosexual interactions are conceptually, ethically, and politically associated with instances of sexual violence. Spurred by recent work by psychologist Nicola 11 , I conclude that some of my earlier critiques of Catharine MacKinnon's theoretical linkages between sexual violence and normative heterosex are wanting. In addition, neither MacKinnon's theory nor my critique of it seem up to the task of providing an ethical account of the examples of “unjust sex” that Gavey has described. I come to the conclusion that an ethical analysis of sexual interactions requires a focus on sexual desire, but that desire cannot take on the by now heavily criticized role of consent. Rather than looking for the presence or absence of sexual desire prior to sexual encounters as a kind of ethical certification of them, we ought instead to focus on the efficacy of that sexual desire, that is, its ability (or lack thereof) to shape an encounter in substantial and meaningful ways.     

Psychosoma in crisis: an autoethnographic study of medically unexplained symptoms and their diverse contexts

In this study, we examine autoethnographic data from three critical incidents as experienced by the first author demonstrating the importance of context in understanding medically unexplained symptoms, their incidence and underlying patterns. We make the case for ethnographies as a crucial research strand in discerning the finer aspects of the patient or client experience; aspects that might be missed where people are directed along protocolised pathways of care. The article describes care as fragmented and depersonalising, leading to disembodied exchanges, as reflected in other autoethnographic studies, particularly those that highlight the complex relationship and controversies surrounding diagnostic uncertainty. We observe that psychological therapists, given the quality of the therapeutic relationship and sustained attention to the person’s experience, are well placed to assist in the necessary processes of re-contextualisation and re-embodiment.     

Sex-related impairment of memory for emotional events with beta-adrenergic blockade

On the basis of recent evidence indicating a sex-related lateralization of amygdala function in memory for emotional events, together with substantial evidence suggesting hemispheric specialization in processing global (central) versus local (detail) aspects of a situation, and the established dependence of the amygdala's memory modulating function on beta-adrenergic receptor activation, we predicted differential effects of a beta-adrenergic receptor antagonist (propranolol) on long-term memory for an emotionally arousing story in men and women. Specifically, we predicted that, relative to placebo, propranolol would impair memory for information central to the story line, but not memory for peripheral story details in men. Conversely, propranolol would impair memory for peripheral details, but not for central information in women. Here we confirm this prediction with a novel analysis of data from our two published studies of propranolol's effect on memory for an emotionally arousing story. These findings demonstrate a sex-related impairment of memory for emotional information by beta-adrenergic blockade. Additionally, they provide support for the hypothesis that, in this paradigm, emotional arousal enhances long-term memory for central information in men via activation of right amygdala/hemisphere function, and enhances long-term memory for peripheral details in women via activation of left amygdala/hemisphere function.